Innovative Inclusion

Amara Recognized by HRC Foundation for LGBTQ Inclusion Efforts

Amara, a not-for-profit organization that supports children in foster care and those who love them, proudly announced that it is being recognized in Celebrating Everyday Change-Makers in Child Welfare — a first-of-its-kind report highlighting more than 70 child welfare agencies across the country that partnered with the HRC Foundation’s All Children – All Families (ACAF) project to improve the services they provide to the LGBTQ community, including children in foster care and prospective foster and adoptive parents. These organizations serve more than 350,000 clients annually in 23 states and employ nearly 11,000 people.

Nicole Mazen, Director of Amara’s Foster Care Program, stated, “We are honored and grateful to be recognized in HRC’s report as an ‘Innovator’ in supporting and serving LGBTQ youth and families experiencing foster care. It’s important to all of us at Amara that we are an open, affirming, and welcoming environment for all children and all families. We are proud to work in partnership with HRC to strengthen our commitment, developing and implementing new ways of supporting and advocating for LGBTQ children and adults impacted by foster care.”

This work could not be more important. LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in foster care and face increased risk of both negative experiences and outcomes:

Up to 30% of youth in foster care are LGBTQ;

LGBTQ youth are twice as likely to report being treated poorly as their non-LGBTQ peers while in care;

LGBTQ youth have a greater average number of placements than their non-LGBTQ peers;

LGBTQ youth are more likely than their non-LGBTQ peers to be placed in congregate care, including group homes.